BRIAN MAY tells Day & Night that he feels disappointed that his great friend the late Sir Patrick Moore was never given the recognition he deserved at the BBC.

“In my opinion although I have to be very careful what I say because there are such great people within the BBC who Patrick worked with – it’s obvious that The Sky At Night was always viewed as a little backwater somewhere,” Brian, 65, tells us.

“They never gave him any budget,” he reveals at the launch of the ebook for 40 Years Of Queen. “You would not believe how that show was put together on two bits of string and a piece of chewing gum. Yet they’ll send Brian Cox out to Victoria Falls to film a rainbow although I love Brian Cox .”

You would not believe how that show was put together on two bits of string and a piece of chewing gum

Brian May

It has recently come to light that Brian bought Sir Patrick’s house above market value and leased it back to him in 2004 for the price of “one peppercorn if demanded” to ensure Sir Patrick would not have to worry about his finances.

Sir Patrick, who presented the show from 1957, passed away on December 9 at his home in West Sussex and Brian explains how he hopes the show will continue.

“There are great people in the team,” says Brian. “Obviously Chris Lintott’s there who’s been a huge part of it for a very long time and there’s no reason why it couldn’t continue and continue to blossom.”